> > > I was rooting for the TV to be off when I went to a 
> > > tavern. Hard to find when Strasberg, being a San Diego 
> > > boy, made the Nationals the de facto home team.
> > The alternative was the Padres, so....
> 
> Well, the Padres are basically nobody's home team.
> 
Does anyone admit to following the Padres? 

> > > My life has not been money-centered, but it's getting to the 
> > > point where a bit of pennypinching is in order, and regrets
> > > about some things like that begin to grate.
> > All those Mercedes car payments? :-)  
> 
> Something like. I was once briefly smitten by a
> girl who wanted a Miata, and I looked into it and

Why I don't know....

> decided that I could with a certain amount of
> sacrifice actually afford to buy her one (she had
> a Sebring convertible, not sporty enough for her),
> but I thought on it and being stuck with her for
> eternity and decided that grinding out a life as
> concertmaster of a dull midwestern orchestra and
> covering up for the fact she was a fairly mediocre
> musician, nah, not a good idea, and ended up going
> out with a woman who could buy her own Miata. 

Smart move. I drive a 2005 Nissan m'self.  
 
> I don't know why this paragraph made me think of
> the following poem, of which I am fond, but it did:
>  Preacher Benjamin, despite adversity
>  Saved a Southern university.
>  Said his nephew, Ain't that nice,"
>  Uncle Ben's converted Rice!" - source unknown

Insert groan here. Then ship this back to Texas where it belongs ... 
as long as you duck when someone tries to shoot you for bringing 
something horrible across state lines.
 
> > Darned tootin'.  She says, being lucky to find an ocarina at 
rummage 
> > sales around here, never mind good instruments.
> 
> I had an ocarina once - wonder where it went.

Probably smash, if it was ceramic like the ones I used to see.
 
> > Unless like lutes, they were forever in need of tuning.
> > (actually, old and cracked and out of tune ... sounds about 
right!) 
> 
> Being lower strung, they were easier to tune, but I'm
> not sure I would have had the guts to do so anyway.

Sheep thrills? 
 
> > > I had only the violin, but I think it went to Goodwill.
> > Not a bad place for them. 
> 
> How much would I have gotten, 10 or 20 bucks?

Something like that.
 
> > > I looked at the Avengers and the Addams Family, because I
> > > thought Carolyn Jones and Diana Rigg were hot. Gunsmoke, 
> >  I'm surprised you didn't go for Yvonne DeCarlo too.  I always 
loved 
> > the way Gomez and Morticia were all lovey-dovey.
> 
> Yvonne was cute as well, but I didn't much care for the
> Munsters.

I always liked that show; it was on here in the afternoons. 
 
> > I've seen David Brinkley a few times on PBS.  Not on my hot scale 
for 
> > sure, but a good news guy.
> 
> He was not on my hot scale, either. I mean, those ears.

And the wrong gender, as far as I know.
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